War Crimes Trials

These photographs were taken in Trnopolje by Azra Blažević, a former resident of Prijedor who was interned in Trnopolje and who now lives in St. Louis. The photographs were smuggled out of Trnopolje and later used as evidence in the ICTY’s prosecution of Milomir Stakić. The transcript of the trial records the following exchange:

Q. Did you or someone else actually have a camera with you at Trnopolje?
A. Azra Blažević had a camera. . . .
Q. And then the next one, please: 01035337.
A. This is Nedžad Jakupović. We managed to take a photograph of him once. He was brought back from that room which was used for the beatings. I think they only brought him to the clinic because of the wound to his eye. . . .
Q. Did he tell you whether there was anyone else, any other prisoner with him in the interrogation room?
A. There were two other inmates with him, I think. One was killed as a result of the beating. . . .
Q. All right. Yes. Thank you. And I'm sorry, the other photograph, which I should have put in first, is 01035336.
THE WITNESS: This is also a photo of Nedžad Jakupović, only taken from a different angle. Perhaps it's a pity that we didn't get a frontal view. His face was bleeding and bruised. . . .
MS. KORNER: Thank you. 01035344.
THE WITNESS: This is a man from the village of Hrnici, I believe, the area of Trnopolje. He was also in the room where the beatings usually took place. He lost considerable weight. . . . He died later. . . .
Q. And then the final, 01035345. Is that the same man?
A. Yes, this is the same man. . . .
Q. Now, could you have a look, please, at this photograph and tell us first of all what we're looking at.
A. This is just the room, the room marked as Room A. We managed once to photograph this room immediately after one of the beatings. . . . You can see bloodstains on the wall and on the floor.